As mounting space is usually at a premium in supermarkets and grocery stores, it is desirable to have bag dispensing systems that use a minimum of such space, are adaptable to a variety of dispenser mounting systems and provide means for keeping bags neat and orderly in the store. Roll mounted bag systems, typically used for fresh produce, can help with limited space problems when they are designed to use folded bags. These relatively large bags are folded two to four times along vertical axes and then formed into compact rolls. The bags are typically joined to one another using perforations. Some bags, known as star-sealed bags are folded twice and then sealed across their bottom edges. This produces a bag with an extremely strong bottom.
When using roll mounted bags, it is critical that the bags are correctly loaded into the bag dispenser and that the bag roll cannot accidently leave the dispenser when a user attempts to pull a bag from the roll. Should this happen, the bag roll could end up on the floor of store, providing a potentially hazardous condition. Dispensers for roll mounted bags should ideally provide a means to insure that the bag roll will remain in the dispenser. Some examples of dispensers for roll mounted bags and related inventions include the following.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,481,594, issued to Yeh et al., is directed to a roll mounted T-shirt style produce bag and dispensers for same. The wire frame structure dispenser has slots that are perpendicular to the bottom portion of the attachment member which in turn is parallel to the supporting base. The bottom portion of attachment member may be attached to a horizontal surface. The roll of bags is mounted on a cylindrical core which fits into the slots.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,424, issued to Simhaee is directed to a roll of plastic bags for use with a bag dispensing device. The dispenser is substantially a rectangular box with an open top that is open for quick replacement of the bag roll. The bottom of the dispenser rests on a flat surface with mounting grooves perpendicular to the flat surface. The roll is mounted on an axle to mount into the grooves of the sidewalls of the box. The grooves extend to the top of the sidewalls. One end of the axle has notches corresponding to the groove which is narrowed in order to prevent rotation of the axle during rotation of the roll about the axle. The bags are dispensed over the top surface of the end wall of the box.
U.S. Pat. No. RE34,856, issued to Daniels illustrates a method and apparatus for dispensing merchandise bags. The dispenser shown is a wire frame structure with a pair of mounting plates and a roll mounting cradle provided to receive a bag roll. The cradle is formed of a U-shaped member and may be swung into operating position from an open position. When the cradle is in the dispensing position, the axis of rotation of the roll is parallel to a mounting axle or the axis of rotation of the roll without an axle. Thus, the cradle that holds the roll in position corresponds to mounting slots if an axle were present and the orientation of this cradle would be perpendicular to the mounting plates.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,552,842, issued to Carvajal is directed to a trash bag dispenser with a roll of trash bag material mounted on a support rod which is received into V-notch shaped receiving areas. The roll would be mounted into notches which correspond to that are perpendicular to the mounting surface.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,403, issued to Kannankeril et al. is directed to a bag separator and dispenser for plastic bags mounted on a roll and supported by a core.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,222, issued to West et al. discloses a dispensing system that utilizes a roll of folded-gusseted bags in combination with a dispenser comprising: (i) a support member for attachment to a support surface; (ii) a pair of guide channels carried by the support member for rotatably supporting the roll of plastic bags for rotation of the roll on the core; (iii) a tongue spaced apart from and carried by the support member in a predetermined position corresponding to the predetermined position of the slit in the tear line.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,535, issued to Kannankeril et al. discloses a bag dispensing system providing plastic bags from a roll of bags where one end is attached to the top of the next bag by perforation lines with a slot there between. The roll of bags provides a core having an indexing member on at least one end. The dispenser comprising a wire frame formed into channels to support the core. The channels include a core retaining member for restraining the core in the channel. The dispenser includes at least one brake attached to a support member and disposed at an angle thereto to provide tension to the edges of the roll of bags as the core passes through the channel passageway as bags are removed from the roll.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a bag dispensing system that accommodates large size film bags that are folded and provided as compact bag rolls. It is a further objective to provide a system that keeps the bag roll securely within the dispenser at all times. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a dispensing system adaptable to a variety of different mountings. It is yet a further objective to provide such a system that provides a visual indication of the need to refill the dispenser. It is another objective of the invention to provide a dispenser that can dispense bags from either the front side or the back side of the dispenser. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a bag dispensing system that is durable, inexpensive, easy to keep clean and simple to use.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.